Conventional gallon-size paint cans are provided with a wire handle attached at the ends thereof to the side of the paint can for use in holding the paint can and for pouring paint from the paint can. Conventional paint cans such as pint-sized and quart-sized paint cans are typically sold without handles.
Various types of detachable handles have been provided which releasably attach to a paint can for carrying the paint can and for pouring paint from the paint can.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,500 to Thombs discloses a detachable handle adapted for use with a paint can. The detachable handle includes a frame having a jaw member which engages a bottom rim of the paint can, and a movable jaw member which releasably attaches to the frame and engages a top rim of the paint can. The movable jaw member and the frame are fixedly attached to each other with a screw and wing nut. In particular, the screw extends through vertically aligned holes in the movable jaw member and the frame.
A drawback of the detachable handle of Thombs is that, if the wing nut becomes loose, the handle will detach from the paint can. This is particularly undesirable when carrying the paint can by the detachable handle. Another drawback of the detachable handle disclosed in Thombs is that the handle is sized only for attachment to a single sized paint can.
Other detachable handles adapted for use with a paint can have been devised which are releasably attachable to various sized paint cans. For examples, U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,317 to Olson discloses a detachable handle having a fixed jaw member, a movable jaw member, and a vertically extending spring for biasing the jaw members toward each other to clampingly engage the top and bottom rims of a paint can. A drawback with the detachable handle disclosed in Olson is that the detachable handle not fixedly attached to the paint can and is susceptible to disengagement from the paint can.
Another example of a detachable handle adapted for attaching to various sized paint cans is U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,285 to Robuck. Robuck discloses a detachable handle having first and second jaw members, and a generally vertically extending screw-threaded member which is rotated to adjust the spacing between the jaw members to clampingly engage the top and bottom rims of a paint can.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,057 to Lockwood discloses a detachable handle having a pair of jaw members, one of which includes a vertically extending slot, through which a screw/wing nut assembly is used to adjust the spacing between the jaw members to clampingly engage the top and bottom rims of various sized paint cans. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,860 to Hoffman and U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,520 to Niemeier.
A drawback with the above-noted detachable handles disclosed in Robuck, Lockwood, Hoffman, and Niemeier, which are adjustably attachable to various sized paint cans, is that if the rotatable screw or the screw/wing nut assembly loosens, the handle will detach from the paint can. Again, this is particularly undesirable when carrying the paint can by the detachable handle.
Therefore, there is a need for a detachable handle for a container which readily and securely attaches to one or more standard sized containers such as conventional paint cans or coffee cans.